I Like the Way You Work It
by CallMeAddicted
Summary: AU. No magic. 1990's Swan Queen. Regina and Emma have met before. Before Storybrooke, before Henry, there was New York in the fall of '96.


**Back in the 90's some radio stations liked to play R &B songs that had rap parts without the rap, so I kind of grew accustomed to the version of this song without the rap. Either version is epic, so choose whichever you want. But I highly recommend listening while reading. I got to re-live a bit of my youth writing this :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The beat dropped and a wistful grin spread across the blonde's face. Regina fought hard and fought dutifully to keep her eyes from rolling just about out of her head; needless to say the fight was in vain. Her lips twitched in their effort to hold back a smirk of their own. Though it was early evening and the sun was low in the sky, it was still bright enough to use as a perfectly logical excuse to cover her eyes with the expensive shades a certain waitress often referred to as 'hater-blockers.' So Regina sat back in her lounge chair, eyes shielded from over-confident green ones, and pretended not to notice the sing-off occurring right in front of her.

As she casually "noticed" Emma dancing in her line of sight, she thought of how the slightly younger woman truly had never changed. Emma had opted to wear a pair of cut offs and her signature white t-shirt to Ruby's 90's themed backyard barbecue. When the sun had lowered and the coastal breeze blew in, she'd run out to the front of the diner where her car was parked and retrieved her favorite red plaid button down. To top off the retro look, Emma had turned her snapback backward (well, more accurately, Henry's snapback that she'd stolen from his room because she swore he had stolen it from her first). When the sheriff had returned to the party, she'd grabbed herself a fresh solo cup of gin and juice, but not before securing the last Stella Artois for her wife. Regina thought about how Emma had never treated her with anything other than respect and adoration – well, except that one time…

Her thoughts were interrupted sharply when that wife of hers decided to land herself on top of the smaller woman while singing (screeching) _'You're blowing my mind; maybe in time, baby I can get you in my ride!'_

"Emma!" she chastised. "You're heavy; get off of me!"

"What, Regina, I can't sit on _your_ lap sometimes? It's because I'm the guy right? That's very chauvinistic of you."

"Seriously, Emma, you're heavy."

Regina frowned slightly and Emma's instinct to protect her immediately kicked in. She stood up, grabbing Regina by the hand and standing her up as well. Emma then took her wife's place in the lounger, pulling the brunette down onto her lap, and equilibrium was established once more.

She shivered slightly, feeling Emma rest her chin on her shoulder, cool gin and juice breath tickling her ear. "Take your glasses off," Emma requested.

"Take your hat off," Regina countered.

"No."

"Then no."

The blonde chuckled and held her wife tighter. She swayed to the beat of the song – it was _their_ song and Regina, no matter how she fought to remain ever the picture of composure, swayed with Emma. Though when she swayed, it was mostly to keep the tipsy, slightly off-kilter blonde on beat. Emma always seemed to lose the beat when she drank, whereas Regina seemed to pick up the slack for both of them. And yeah, the slightly younger woman truly had never changed.

Their now fifteen year old son meandered over with his hair spiked up, baggy cargo shorts hanging slightly and sweater vest showing off muscles that were unfortunately still a bit smaller than his blonde mom's. When he had finished off his outfit earlier that day, Emma had been impressed by what she'd called Punk Rock Doug Funnie. Henry hadn't even known who Doug Funnie was.

"Hey Moms, burgers are done."

Sure enough, a crowd was gathered at the grill where Emma's best friend was passing out freshly cooked meat. David looked like a member of 98 Degrees, hair dyed brown with blond tips. He sported jeans and a baby blue baseball jersey. Where these people got the idea to revive the 90's, Regina did not know. She'd wanted to escape the 90's when she was there; why on Earth would anyone want to bring it back? However she'd remembered the one outfit from her youth still taking up residence in a box in their attic. Luckily the short, tight, sunflowery dress and navy blue Keds still fit. Although she looked like part of the cast of _90210_ , it didn't hurt that Emma seemingly couldn't tear her eyes away.

"Henry," she smiled sweetly at their son, "be a dear and get your mother and me something to eat?"

"Sure, Mom. What do you want?" He obviously hadn't wanted to brave the hungry grill stalkers again, but he also wasn't going to say no to his Mom.

"Get me a turkey burger with lettuce, tomato and some of that fancy spread Granny made."

"Ma?" he questioned Emma.

"Oh, uh, I'll take a regular burger, everything on it. And macaroni salad. And a bag of chips…" She thought for a second. "And a pickle. I think there's some of those roasted garlic ones by the condiments. Oh, and get me a root beer. Thanks."

He looked at her incredulously. "And you expect me to carry this all, how?"

"Two trips Henry; it's not rocket science."

Walking off reluctantly, he mumbled something. Regina simply called after the kid, "Thanks, Sweetie!"

The two were joined shortly by their friends: Mary Margaret, David (after finally surrendering the grill to Granny), Ruby, Billy (who seriously had more food on his plate than even Emma, as if they were running competition); and Killian. And if Henry looked like punk rock Doug Funnie, Killian looked like non-green Roger Klotz.

Mouth full of hot dog, Ruby fawned over the blonde and the brunette in her lap. "You guys are so cute together! You know you're like my favorite couple, right?" To that, a quick flash of indignation appeared on Mary Margaret's face. "When Henry first introduced you guys, was it like love at first sight?"

Regina smirked, turning her head so she could see the equally amused expression on her wife's face. "No; when Henry introduced us, I was shocked, confused – I was kind of threatened by Emma. But mostly, I just wanted to run up to her, grab on and never let go. It was as if years of worry just melted away."

"Wait, what?" Billy questioned. "When you say worry, you mean… What do you mean?"

Emma spoke up, "You guys _do_ know that wasn't the first time we met, right?" She looked around her group of peers, noticing confusion on all their faces. "We've known each other since we were kids."

It was silent as they all processed, then suddenly a collective of shocked outcries and _'Ahs'_ and _'No wonders'_ filled the small space between them. It was Ruby's voice that broke through the dissonance. "How did we all not know? Was this a secret?"

"No, no secret," Regina simply stated. "I'd just figured when Henry was busy bragging about his new mom all those years ago, he'd also told he entire town our complicated past."

"The kid does have a big mouth," Emma helpfully supplied.

"Huh…" the waitress ruminated. "This is terrible because I know _everything_ that goes on in town. I make it my business to know everything!"

"I knew!" Granny's voice echoed through the yard over into their direction.

"Thanks for sharing, old woman!" Ruby bellowed back.

"Keep your trap shut, devil spawn!" the old woman returned.

A wide grin grew on Ruby's face, "Love you, Granny!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Granny muttered to herself.

Ignoring the strange expression of love from grandmother to granddaughter, Mary smiled thoughtfully. "So you knew our little Emma when she was a child," she directed at Regina. "I always imagine she was the kind of kid who frequently stumbled into trouble."

At this, Regina snorted. "She was trouble, alright. Emma could be a little shit when she wanted to be."

"Whatever, you loved it," the blonde mumbled.

"No, I didn't always. Sometimes, Emma, you were downright rude…"

Her wife began to look a bit self-conscious, but Regina was quick to swat that demon away. She smiled, laughing a bit at the memory bringing itself to the forefront of her mind. It was the first time, in all their previous experience with one another, that Emma had truly crossed a line and thoroughly pissed her off. It was also the first time that Regina had realized how much affection she'd truly held for the younger girl. And it was the last time Emma stepped out of line on her ever again.

"So," Mary continued, "tell us about little Emma!"

Glancing back at her wife, Regina silently asked for permission. Understanding Emma's reluctance for her to reveal just how troublesome Emma had been as a child, she decided against telling the story of how they'd first met, but instead decided to tell the story of how they became to be – the story she'd felt defined the shape of their future. Emma nodded, giving her consent to enlighten their friends. The sheriff nuzzled further into Regina, squeezing her as tightly as possible. So she began telling their story.

"Well, once upon a time, there lived two girls, growing up in two completely different parts of New York City; merely blocks apart, yet with so much distance between. And no matter how much distance time put between the two, they were always meant for greatness…"

* * *

 _20ish Years Ago, Autumn 1996, New York City_

 _It was one of those seasonably warm October days; what they called "Indian Summer" and every kid in the city was desperately holding onto as much of summer as they could – despite having already been back at school for weeks now. Some guys Regina knew from school were hanging out outside of the bodega; she was hardly interested in anything they had to say to or offer her. They were out of her league. She'd never describe it that way, but she was on a different wavelength altogether. Her friends Zelena, Kathryn and Ursula however, were connoisseurs of the world of teenage dating. As she waited off to the side, her mind wandered: this time next year, she'd be bouncing in between classes amidst the beautiful fall backdrop of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Would she have friends? Would they be anything like the overbearing frenemies she has now; or would they be more mature, sophisticated and genuine? Would she have a boyfriend? Even she scoffed at that one. Perhaps a girlfriend, though. But not one she could ever bring home or talk endlessly to her mother about._

 _Finally, she noticed her friends were finishing up their group flirt session and with light giggles and promises of calling the guys later, they rejoined Regina._

 _Loud music could be heard about a block away, as the girls walked in that direction. It was coming from the infamous brownstone in the middle of the block – the one which everyone in the neighborhood knew housed a bunch of delinquent foster kids. Everyone knew the kids who lived there, mostly because of the havoc they wreaked on a daily basis. And everyone also knew the foster parents who honestly couldn't give two shits about the whereabouts of their charges, unless of course it was a Friday. Fridays were social worker visit days. Now although Regina and her crew were more Upper East Side and the foster brats were more East Harlem, they were all familiar. The distance between them may have been a few rungs on the social ladder, but map-wise, only a handful of blocks._

 _Regina immediately recognized the song. It had only been released on the radio that week, but everyone knew it already. It was hot. Of course her snobby friends pretended to hate the crassness of it. Regina secretly loved it. She sat in her bedroom the previous night waiting for it to play on the radio again, a blank cassette tape rewound and ready inside her boom box. As soon as the DJ announced he would be playing it in the coming few minutes, she'd hovered her finger over the record button, anxiously awaiting the completion of her newest mix tape._

 _The girls turned the corner, walking down the street where the foster kids resided. She spotted the little bratty pre-teens sitting on their stoop pretending to look cool: Peter, Neal, August, Merlin and Emma. She could hear them yelling at each other, chastising August for hogging the radio to himself and yelling at Peter for acting like 'he runs shit.'_

 _"Ugh, walk faster girls. I really don't want those little cretins thinking they can come over and speak to us," Kathryn said. "Especially that little lesbo in training…" She nodded her head in Emma's direction. Honestly, Regina didn't think the girl was so bad. She'd always been nice enough to Regina, never really causing her too much of a problem. But admittedly, Emma did seem to have a staring problem._

 _"I think she likes you, Regina," Zelena teased._

 _"I think our little Regina might not be too opposed to that," Ursula stepped up the teasing. "You're probably waiting until she's a little less pubescent to show her a good time, huh? I mean, it doesn't seem like you're very interested in anyone else…"_

 _Regina snapped at that, "Don't be so disgusting! I would never." Although she wasn't quite sure herself what she was claiming she'd never do: be with the younger girl; or any girl at all. Of course, Emma was way too young. She was way too young; she was 12 for crying out loud. "You guys think that just because I have no interest in the immature, shallow, sycophantic boys in our school that that makes me gay! It doesn't. It just means that I'm looking for more than just cheap high school hookups."_

 _"Or you're gay," Kathryn said and they all laughed._

 _She ignored them. She couldn't wait to be rid of this group of friends, but for now, she'd suck it up just to keep the social status quo in her favor. But next year…_

 _Out of the corner of her eye, Regina could see the group of pre-teens whispering conspiratorially to one another. She noticed how Emma's face seemed to flush red, then the 12-year old blonde tomboy straightened out her red plaid shirt, dusted off her converse and put her hat on backward. She stepped off the stoop confidently, only looking back at her sniggering foster brothers once for encouragement._

 _'What is she up to?' Regina thought. Everyone who knew the fosters knew that of them all, it was Peter who was most likely to end up on an episode of_ Cops _. But it was Emma who would end up in trouble simply because she didn't really think her actions through before committing to them._

 _"Hey Gina," the blonde smirked as she jogged up to the older girls._

 _"Hi Emma."_

 _"So, have you heard this new single? It's pretty cool, huh?"_

 _'Oh God, this isn't happening…' Regina though bitterly. Her friends were watching her being flirted with by an infant. "Yeah, I've heard it."_

 _"You know why I like it a lot?" Emma questioned, waiting for Regina to guess why she liked it._

 _"I don't know, why?"_

 _"Because it reminds me of you," her smirk grew even wider. There was even a hint of a blush on her pale cheeks._

 _Regina could hear the snorts and barely held together laughter from Zelena, Kathryn and Ursula behind her. She tried to ignore it and just be the bigger person. It was hard to live up to her own fierce reputation without embarrassing the poor little 12-year old Emma. So she simply responded, "That's sweet of you Emma, but I'm seventeen and you're twelve. Besides that, I much more prefer maturity and strong arms wrapped around me." Her voice became sultry, and almost threatening, as if her real words were, 'Talk to me again in front of these people and I will end you!'_

 _The younger girl teetered a bit on her feet. "Oh um, that's only like five years. When you're thirty and I'm twenty-five it won't seem so bad, right?"_

 _Seriously, the brunette wanted to both hug her and strangle her at the same time. It was kind of cute that Emma thought about them together in their twenties. But no, it wasn't going to happen, ever._

 _"Aww, I think she really does have a crush on you Gina!" Ursula mocked. "Do you think she'll need a chaperone on your first date?"_

 _She wanted to fight the need to bite back – at Emma, at Ursula. A strong feeling of insecurity was building and she needed to keep it at bay. But she also needed to do something about her dwindling dignity._

 _"Listen, Emma, I've tried being nice to you, but you still don't seem to get it: whatever little fantasy you've got going on in your head about me, end it!" She glared down at the girl, who looked both hurt and determined. It seemed as if Emma were deciding if she should keep trying or give up. She wanted so badly for her to give up. Regina saw the end of this situation. It was playing out in her mind. Emma wouldn't give up. She would push until Regina had no choice but to hurt her feelings in front of everyone._

 _The blonde looked back at her posse on the stoop. The boys nodded their heads and motioned for her to go on. Go on with what? Regina didn't know, but she knew this was going to end badly. Emma whispered something to herself, something that sounded like 'Just do it, you got this.' Then she nodded and stepped in closer to Regina._

 _She leaned up right into the brunette's personal space. Regina would be completely lying if she said it was uncomfortable. It was charged, but in a way she couldn't pinpoint._

 _"I do get it, Regina. You want me but you can't let yourself admit it yet." Regina was instantly angered by the audacity of this kid. Emma continued. "I know what I want: I want you. You're a total bad-ass and I think we'd make a good team." At that, Emma leaned in even closer, subtly snaking her hand around Regina's back. "Think about it babe…" She moved quickly and boldly, grabbing Regina's ass before backing away._

 _A collective gasp was echoed throughout the street. The four boys on the porch, the three girls behind Regina, and even some other random neighbors watching this whole scene waited with bated breaths to see just how "Queen Regina" would punish the insolent peasant._

 _Emma's smirk seemed to fade quickly when she realized the firestorm she'd ignited in Regina. She gulped, her feet glued to their spot._

 _"How…dare you!" the brunette pushed Emma. "You arrogant, little pre-pubescent jerk! I should have you arrested, you little perv!" Logically Regina knew the blonde had been chastised well enough at that point. The look on Emma's face was enough to tell Regina that once again, Emma had stupidly stepped into something she didn't think through. She didn't actually mean to be disrespectful and crude. Most likely she'd been taking advice from the idiot boys on the other side of the street. But illogically, Regina was too far gone to care._

 _She got right back in the blonde's face. "This is why you have no friends, because you're a moronic, disgusting street rat. You'll never be anything more. No wonder you can't manage to keep a home!"_

 _Right then, Regina knew she'd gone too far. But she couldn't backtrack and apologize; it would make her look weak. But Emma now had tears in her eyes. She felt terribly guilty. After several long moments, the initial shock wore off and the random bystanders moved on about their business. She justified to herself that she had to hurt Emma. She had to make her realize that her silly crush wasn't going to work out. And more importantly, she had to be cruel enough so her friends wouldn't believe she wanted any part of the pre-teen. She was protecting them both. Right?_

 _"I'm sorry," Emma whispered._

 _Regina simply shoved past her, continuing her walk home. It was getting late. She'd been instructed by her mother to be home by seven for dinner and so she could get ready for school the next day._

 _Regina vaguely heard the aftermath from her new position down the street. She tried her best to ignore it._

 _'Stop laughing at me!' she heard Emma yell at one of the boys. 'You told me girls liked that! You lied!'_

 _One of the boys responded, 'Yeah, and you listened.' Probably Peter; it sounded like him._

 _With her suspicions about Emma simply being a victim of bad advice confirmed, still Regina couldn't bring herself to look back, let alone go back and apologize for her words. She simply kept walking, almost half a block ahead of the other girls. Maybe tomorrow or over the weekend, she'd come back by herself and talk to Emma._

* * *

 _Later that night, Regina was laying out the clothes she'd wear to school the next day. Well more accurately, picking out the combination of uniform pieces she'd wear. She decided on the solid, straight line skirt with short sleeved blouse and cardigan. She decided on the suede slipper flats. Her biggest decision would be knee highs or pantyhose. That decision would depend on the weather in the morning._

 _She heard the doorbell ring. That was a bit odd, as it was after 9pm on a Tuesday. Her father bellowed that he'd get the door, as the house lady had been long gone for the evening._

 _"Regina!" she heard her dad call. Regina ran down the stairs to see what he needed. "You have company," the man informed. His face showed concern – who allows their children out at this hour in New York City to go visit friends? More specifically, who let a child this young out and what was she doing visiting his seventeen year old daughter?_

 _She jogged over to the door to see who her visitor was. Her father walked away to give them some privacy, sure to remind her not to be too long. When she stepped into the foyer and opened the door wider, her smile dropped. "Oh, it's you…"_

 _"Um, hi Regina," Emma muttered. "I just wanted to give this to you." The young girl held out a purple envelope with Lisa Frank stickers on it._

 _"What is that? And why are you here? I thought I made myself clear earlier?!" Regina knew at some point she'd wanted to apologize to Emma, but she'd been caught off guard here. She wasn't ready for niceties._

 _"I know," Emma defended. "I just wanted to say sorry and give you this." She held out the envelope toward Regina again, urging the brunette to take it._

 _"Really? Lisa Frank? I wouldn't think a girl like you would be caught dead with something so frilly," Regina spat._

 _Emma simply shrugged. "Sometimes when we get Christmas gifts from the agency, we get things we don't really like. I just saved it – just in case."_

 _"What do you want me to do with this?"_

 _"Just read it. And again, I'm sorry."_

 _"Fine," Regina grabbed the colorful envelope, rather rudely. "Just go home. And don't come back." With that, she turned on her heel and closed the front door, not even bothering to say good night to the girl._

 _When Regina got up to her room, she heard her separate phone line ringing and tossed the envelope on the floor in favor of answering the see-through phone._

 _"Hey, Kathryn," she answered dryly. After all, Kathryn called every night at the same time regarding the same gossip about the same people. She couldn't wait until her mother knocked on the door telling her to go to bed._

* * *

 _The week had gone by – uneventful as usual. Today was one of the rare days when Regina was alone, her meddlesome threesome of "friends" too preoccupied with extracurriculars to be a burden to her._

 _She dug her house key out of the front pocket of her backpack, letting herself into the sprawling townhouse. The brunette smiled, headphones topped above her very obedient hair, Walkman clipped to the waistband of her skirt. The strong beat that flowed into her ears brought a smile; it reminded her of the shy, yet too-confident blonde that lived blocks away. Irritating as she was, it boosted Regina's confidence that someone so sweet was so into her. The teen caught herself in the thought and frowned._

'Eww, you perv! You're thinking about a twelve year old!' _she mentally chastised her own musings. Still, Regina's thoughts traveled back to the nuisance known as Emma. She recalled there was something she was supposed to do – the letter. She'd carelessly thrown it down a few nights ago in favor of listening to Kathryn's mindless gossip and general complaints about life, and she'd never read it. She hadn't even opened it._

 _Dropping her backpack and Walkman at the table in the middle of the foyer, she ran up the stairs, taking two at a time. It was Friday, that's usually when the house lady cleaned her room. She hoped she wasn't too late and that the letter was still there where she'd left it – wherever that was…_

 _Bursting into her bedroom, Regina was just in time to find the woman who kept their house running the vacuum cleaner around her bed. Regina tried to call out to her but she didn't hear. The vacuum made a screeching noise as some article of dirt around the edge of the bed struggled to be sucked up. The older woman bent down to investigate. She came up with a small purple envelope. Regina's eyes widened when she realized the envelope was about to find a home in the trash bag hanging off the vacuum canister._

 _"Eugenia, no!" Regina yelled. She practically tackled the older woman to regain possession of the envelope. For starters, she needed to read that letter. But also, God forbid it ended up in that trash bag. Regina wasn't an idiot – anything in that trash bag, though trash, was considered fair game to the woman of the house, Cora Mills. She spied on her daughter via the staff. The last thing Regina needed was for her mother to get her hands on the lovesick musings of a twelve year old addressed to her seventeen year old daughter._

 _"You don't have to continue. My room is clean enough. In fact, if this is your last room today, why don't you leave early?" the teenager offered._

 _"Oh no," replied Eugenia, "the last time I listened to you, your mother nearly had my head! However as you mentioned, your room is clean enough. I still have about thirty minutes until the end of my shift – I think I'll use the extra time to make sure the mini bar is nice and spiffy…" The older woman's words trailed off as she exited the girl's room._

 _Regina took a sigh of relief. She brushed the dust off the envelope and straightened out the creases as best she could. A part of her felt guilty for letting it almost get destroyed, especially after having not read it. So she placed it thoughtfully in the center of her bed – it would be safe there for a few minutes. Then she proceeded into her walk-in closet to remove the uniform she'd sported all day._

 _After coming out of the closet (…) in her weekend loungewear, the brunette went into the en suite to clean up a bit. It was one of her favorite parts of the day – cleaning the stress and expectations and smog from her hands and face. She always felt as if her weekend couldn't truly begin until she was clean of all the week._

 _Regina lied face down on the center of bed. She took the purple envelope in her hands and smiled, noticing for the first time the sloppy script on the front. It read_ 'To Regina Mills: I'm sorry, Emma.' _Next to the words were a cluster of vibrant animal stickers – baby lions, puppies and a panda bear. She laughed. Well, she snorted. They were cute. It was funny that Emma had taken time to select the adorable stickers, and she could tell Emma tried really hard to neaten her handwriting. The younger girl had never seemed very frilly or feminine to Regina. She was always clad in baseball tees, and caps, and plaid, and scruffy sneakers. She'd always seen her with cuts and scrapes on her face and hands and dirt on her cheeks. The fact that Emma seemed to have taken Regina's more girly tastes into consideration was endearing. Just then Regina admitted to herself (and herself alone – she'd never admit this to anyone out loud) that if she were a few years younger or if Emma were a few years older, she'd totally have a crush on her._

 _Opening the envelope, Regina glanced at her bedroom door to make sure it was closed and locked. It was. She began to read._

 **Dear Regina,**

 **I'm sorry for what I did today. I really like you and I don't want you to be mad at me. But I thought thats how I was suposed to be with girls who I like. Thats what Peter told me to do and he's older so I thought he would help me. Turns out he was just looking for another reason to make fun of me. So I'm sorry. I hope you for give me.**

 **I know I'm only 12 and your like this pretty, smart kick ass chick, but do you think Ive got a shot? I hope I do. Even though I didn't mean to be rude, I did mean what I said. I think about us in the future sometime. It would be nice if we live in a big house with a dog. Or maybe a cat. Which ever one you want.**

 **Any way, I gotta go give you this letter. I hope you read it and your not mad at me anymore. I promise I'll try to be nicer from now on. Also Im sorry your friend's made fun of you. Maybe you shouldn't hang around them any more. You should be with people who make you fell good about you.**

 **Bye Regina : ) I'll see you in like half hour.**

 **Love, Emma**

 **PS: I like the way you work it ; )**

 _It wasn't really a sad letter, but that didn't stop Regina from building tears in her eyes. It was also very ungrammatically correct, she couldn't help but notice. She remembered wanting to go the blonde at some point to apologize to her, but the week had been busy and she'd forgotten. Honestly, she hadn't prioritized it. But now, she thought maybe she could catch a cab down the where Emma lives and maybe take her out for fro-yo as an apologetic gesture. It truly was nothing romantic; she couldn't bring herself to even entertain that idea given the age difference and gender similarity (she was definitely not ready for_ that _conversation with herself). But she felt differently about Emma now. She felt that maybe rather than avoid her and insult her, she could be her friend, or maybe be a role model. If the young foster were truly into girls, maybe Regina could be a sort of mentor; you know: teach her about respect and humility and how to properly talk to a woman. In all honestly, Regina felt the undeniable urge to hug the girl to death. She always did have a strange affinity for adorable strays, much to her mother's chagrin._

 _She glanced at her clock and thought she could make it to Emma's and back in time for dinner without rousing her mother's suspicions. So she went into the closet and came out in a pair of jeans, a sweater and riding boots. Regina ran down the stairs, retrieving a pea coat from the closet and grabbing her house keys from the table where she left them. She left the house, off to find and make it up to the younger girl._

* * *

 _Before Regina even reached the door she could hear all of the ruckus in the home. There had to be at least three televisions on. She could hear yelling – an adult woman and a boy. The boy was unmistakably Peter. His voice was very distinct. It sounded like they were arguing about another kid's missing Gameboy and Peter emphatically defended himself._

 _She rang the bell. For a few moments, there was no answer, so she rang again. The adult woman yelled at Peter to wait, that the conversation wasn't over yet. The door was yanked open and Regina took a step back, grabbing onto the stair rail to avoid falling._

 _"Can I help you?" the older woman huffed._

 _"Um, hi, I'm Regina. Is Emma home?"_

 _"Who?"_

 _"Em-ma?" It stunned Regina that the caretaker of these children wouldn't even know who Emma was. It was no wonder these kids ran amok of the neighborhood. "I'm a friend of hers; is she home?"_

 _"Oh, the blonde one? No. She doesn't live here anymore." The woman moved to close the door, but Regina sprang into action pushing her way into the entrance._

 _"What do you mean she doesn't live here? Is she at another home? Did she get adopted?"_

 _"Sweetie, I don't know where she is. She was a handful, so her case worker found her someplace else. If you'll excuse me, I've got a Gameboy thief to deal with."_

 _She half ran up the stairs after Peter, yelling his name as she went. The brunette simply stood in the foyer of the house, not quite sure what to make of the information she'd just learned. How could Emma have been so much of a handful that she'd gotten the boot, yet Peter Panning was still a resident?_

 _"Regina?" someone softly called to her. She turned around and there was one of Emma's foster brothers (former)._

 _"Hey Merlin. How are you?"_

 _"I'm okay," he shrugged. "So you heard about Emma, huh?"_

 _"Yeah. Do you know where she is? When did she leave?"_

 _"Yesterday. Wendy, the lady you just spoke to, told Emma to stay home from school because she had a visit with her case worker in the morning. We thought it was weird because they usually only do visits when we're home after school or on the weekend. And when we got home, she said Emma's gone."_

 _"But where to? Where would they have taken her?"_

 _"Honestly, anywhere. I know her chat room name though. I was going to just keep trying to message her and hopefully if she finds a computer, she'll answer. If she does I'll find out where she went. You want me to let you know what happens?"_

 _Regina looked down at her hands. She was distraught, although at the moment not distraught enough to realize she was distraught. "Could you please? Just ask her if she's okay. And tell her that – tell her I came to see her."_

 _"Yeah, sure."_

 _She turned to leave the house. It was starting to feel claustrophobic. It was starting to feel like missed opportunity and regret and a bunch of oh shits._

 _Her legs took her down the front stoop and down the sidewalk as fast as they could. It had gotten colder outside. She'd only been at the house a few minutes, but when she'd come out, it felt like the beginning of winter rather than the middle of an unseasonably warm fall. As she walked, a biting cold wind blew against her. It was a little hard to move in the direction she needed to go to get home. The wind literally took her breath away. It was the kind of wind that made all the sticky wet fluids in your face come out and you can't tell if your eyes are tearing or your nose is running or both._

 _Though when the distraught teen finally reached the warm inside of her own home, she quickly figured out it was both. Her eyes were tearing – a lot – and her nose was running. She was crying._

 _"Princesa," her father came to stood in front of her. "What happened? Are you okay?"_

 _"Regina?" her mother was now standing in the foyer as well. Both parents wore a look of confusion and concern._

 _"Nothing, I'm fine," she mumbled._

 _She ran up the stairs seeking the comfort and privacy of her bedroom. When she got there, she didn't fall into the soft comforting bed. She threw her coat off and tossed the boots with it. She needed to be comforted – not by her parents or her pillows or stuffed animals – and not by her so-called friends. She needed to be comforted by her own tears. For the first time in life – and not the last time, by the way – Regina had felt a feeling of loss that in some ways surpassed normal loss. She'd felt the feeling of losing out on something before even having a chance to pursue it. And she mourned. She mourned for Emma, who just wanted to be loved and surrounded by people who wanted her around them. She mourned for what she knew Emma and her could have been: friends, confidants, more… She mourned because she could actually see that future Emma talked about: the one where she was thirty and Emma was twenty-five and it wasn't so bad. How would it ever happen now?_

'And why do I even care?' _she thought bitterly as she cried, curled up into herself on the floor._ 'It probably wouldn't have worked anyway…'

* * *

Present Day

"Wait, Eugenia as in _Granny_?!" Ruby yelled. The alcohol she'd consumed all evening made her speak her words so emphatically. "How did I not know this information?"

Regina just grinned and explained, "When my mother let go of Eugenia I had been home after my first year in college. I took her number and we kept in touch in the years after that. We had been speaking one day, about a year after I'd graduated law school, when Granny jokingly suggested I come up here and run this town as anyone would likely be better than that 'slippery bastard, Gold.' And I was just tired enough of being under my mother's thumb and thought, what the hell? Why not move to some nowhere town in Maine and run for Mayor?"

Unseen by anyone in the group, Gold lurked in the shadows glaring at Regina. He would have seemed much more threatening except for that the fact that he was dressed in Hammer pants and a gold vest.

"So shortly after I moved to Maine, I realized I didn't have much experience so I began working with City Counsel. And as I'd been considering adoption for quite some time, it was a quick decision to adopt Henry. I didn't actually run for office until he turned five." Regina shrugged her shoulders as if the story were that simple. Around her though, the others a watched in awe as she recounted the story of how Emma and she became to be. "And the rest you all pretty much know."

There was radio silence from Mary, Ruby, David, Billy and Killian. Even those of them who had a hard time believing in destiny and fate wondered about the circumstances that allowed these two women to remain connected in a very tangible way. A housekeeper with a heart of gold, a dubious double-dealing Mayor with no business running a town, a mother hell-bent on controlling her child's life, a stint in prison accompanied by an unexpected pregnancy, some adoption papers, an angry ten year old, and a purple envelope with Lisa Frank stickers all worked together like members of an assembly line who knew their sole purpose was to create a masterpiece designed by the fates. Where would they be had Henry been an understanding and forgiving ten year old? Where would they be had Emma not landed herself in prison? Where would they be without the sloppy yet thoughtful letter that caused Regina's hard exterior to crack? And where would they be without Emma's propensity for troublesome situations?

So much had happened that lead the two women to the happy ending they're living now and they reflected often on the bliss they'd been able to find. But Regina liked to reflect on the beginning. Because rocky as the road may have been, it was still special to her; it was the start of their journey. And though she still will not admit it out loud, it's this song that will forever embody the moment their journey began.

Regina was shaken from her musings when Emma stood up from beneath her. The blonde pulled Regina out to the make shift dance floor and yelled to Ruby to play their song again. Their friends hooted as Emma slinked closer to Regina, bringing the shorter woman as close as can be. Regina couldn't help laughing at her goofy wife.

"Regina," the blonde called. "Regina," she said again.

"Yes, Emma? I'm right here, I can hear you."

"I'll always fi-

"If you say it, I'll punch you in the throat," the brunette interrupted. Emma simply snorted in response.

They swayed to the beat, not really bothering to really dance, just content to softly move together. The night had come to a near end and Regina buried her face in Emma's shoulder. She let out a soft yawn but never stopped moving her hips.

"Regina," the blonde called again. "Regina?"

"Yes…"

"I like the way you work it! No diggity…"

The laugh the filled the night air was electric. As Emma held her while she laughed, Regina thought it was the perfect end to a perfect day with her family. She thought how this point they were at in their story was the perfect middle on the way to their perfect happy ending.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed. It was fun to write. P.S. I love reviews 😉**


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